Acoustic devices such as audio speakers, also known as loudspeakers, are well known and widely used for transmitting audio output to and within a designated listening environment within earshot of an audience to be accommodated within that environment. However, walls and partitions, doors, windows, furniture, and fixtures often present structural and aesthetic challenges when selecting a preferred placement of conventional audio speakers which are typically housed in box-like structures. It is a widely acknowledged problem in the relevant art that such conventional box speakers, which are typically provided in single or plural pairings, are undesirably large and bulky and thus hinder unobtrusive yet acoustically correct placement in any of the various rooms of a residential dwelling, such as a bedroom, study, or playroom. Moreover, desired, optimal placement of box speakers in a living room or other typically larger area of the residential dwelling to effect a desired stereo effect is often compromised when placement of furniture within the room is strongly suggested by various features of the room itself, including window and door installations within the room. Accordingly, the conventional approach to placement of audio speakers is generally compromised by the very features often provided in a selected room for the comfort and convenience of a listener.
Another well-known approach that has been only partially successful in addressing and overcoming these prior art problems is the installation of audio speakers within the walls of a room, generally between adjacent walls studs of the room, such that the exterior surface of the mounted speaker appears to be flush with or minimally protruding from the wall. In-wall mounted speakers include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,113,968; 5,082,083; 4,903,300; 4,640,381; and 4,296,280. Such installations require exact measurements, leveling, framing and costly drywall repairs, which must generally be provided as custom work in view of the generally non-standard, large variety of available speaker sizes and arrangements within the wall-based enclosure. Another fundamental problem with this approach is that, in order to achieve optimal listening positions within the room in which such speakers are installed, furniture placement is essentially limited to a region within a defined listening area, which is generally considered to be the phase-matched cone-shaped region defined by overlapping audio distributions of each of the pair of stereo audio speakers facing the listener. As a result, yet another fundamental problem with this approach is essentially total inflexibility of such system to be positionally adjusted without an additional, costly custom reinstallation of one or both of each pair of in-wall mounted speakers to accommodate a changed floor plan of furniture, whereby placement of couches, chairs and the like will be dictated by the fixed placement of the in-wall mounted speakers. Such inflexibility may also negatively impact desired decoration of the room.
Furthermore, whether the speakers are independently box-mounted or wall-mounted, they must be powered and operated at sufficiently high volume levels to be heard clearly by a listener who is often located a distance from the speakers and often on the opposite side of the room. As will be appreciated, such sound volume requirements may result in undesired disturbances in adjacent rooms or levels of the building. Moreover, speaker wires often present logistical and aesthetic problems in the overall positioning of the speakers and furniture in the room.
Accordingly, there is a need for an audio speaker which is particularly suitable for flexible installation in a low-visibility profile, yet which provides enhanced listening characteristics at relatively low volume and power levels.